Could Cannabinoids be the Answer for Treating Tourette Tics?

The Lambert Initiative is facilitating the supply for a clinical trial to determine if medicinal cannabis can help treat the ticks of Tourette syndrome. The University of Sydney published an article talking about this pioneering clinical trial. Tourette syndrome is a neurological disorder that causes patients to experience repetitive vocalizations, movements, and involuntary tics. Tourette’s affects the motor skills and phonics abilities of an individual. It’s unclear what the cause of Tourette syndrome is but it is suggested it is due to a complexity of inherited genetic disorders combined with environmental factors.

Tourette Statistics Worth Knowing

The Center For Disease Control estimates that one out of every 162 children has Tourette syndrome, but these numbers are not solid. It is not uncommon for Tourette syndrome to correct itself and go away approaching adulthood but this isn’t always the case. Chris Wright knows this firsthand after living a lifetime with Tourette syndrome. Chris developed Tourettes early as a child and medication did not help. Chris is now 31 years old and is the first participant in this clinical trial. Those who participate in the clinical trial conducted at Wesley Medical Research will be involved in a 6-week crossover study.

A Clinical Trial is Underway

During the trial, treatment will be administered through placebo or addictive drug as it was referred to, we’re assuming they’re talking about cannabis. The University of Sydney published an article called the “10 medical cannabis treating the tics and Tourette syndrome.” In this article, they suggest that medical cannabis has developed according to pharmaceutical standards containing cannabinoids, THC, and CBD.

If this is how the effectiveness of the study is being investigated, they are missing out on a world of potentials. There are loads of evidence published on the NCBI suggesting that whole plant therapy involving a wide array of plant-based cannabinoids found in cannabis work better together vs. isolated. The theory of phytocannabinoids working together to produce more effective results is called the Entourage Effect.

What is Being Researched?

In a collaborative effort with the Lambert Initiative, Bod Australia Limited will be providing the medicinal cannabis extract used in this clinical trial. The overall goal of the trial is to determine the safety and efficiency of cannabinoids in dealing with tic frequency, cognitive, and psychiatric symptoms, that are commonly associated with Tourette’s.

Ashley Priest is a mother, a wife, a writer and a medical cannabis patient. She has a passion for sharing education surrounding cannabis with the world to help remove the negative stigmas that still surround cannabis in many places today.